Graham: I would have voted no on Boxer bill

South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham – the Democrats’ best shot at a Republican vote for climate-change legislation – says he would have voted against the bill that passed out of Sen. Barbara Boxer’s Environment and Public Works Committee Thursday.

“There are simply not the votes to pass this bill through the Senate,” Graham said. “If the Boxer bill were to come to the Senate floor as written, I would vote “no.”

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Graham is working closely with Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) to get a climate bill through the Senate. The three senators want to recreate a bipartisan effort known as the “Gang of 10,” which floated a plan last year that would have included new drilling and increased investment in renewable energy.

“I believe there is a pathway forward – if we choose to take it — that makes us more energy independent, creates sound environmental policy, promotes job creation and frees our nation from dependency on foreign oil,” Graham said.

Boxer passed the climate bill with no Republicans participating in the process or voting for the bill. Republicans boycotted the proceedings on the grounds that they wanted additional economic analysis completed on the legislation.

“This is not a procedure we wanted; it’s a procedure that’s available to us,” said Boxer. “The majority has to be able to do its work…otherwise the whole Senate could come to a screeching halt.”

Republicans called Boxer's move the “nuclear option,” warning that it violated decades of committee precedent.

“I am here to appeal to you and the members of the committee,” Sen. Jim Inhofe, the top Republican on the committee, said in a brief statement. “In the history of this committee, we have not been able to find a time when the bill has been marked up without minority.”